"Su... Su Chen." Seeing him, Kocho Shinobu's expression looked a bit unnatural. Su Chen walked in front of her. His height, over 1.7 meters, immediately created a charming contrast with her smaller frame. Su Chen smiled slightly. "Shinobu, thank you for taking care of me that day."
"It's nothing." Kocho Shinobu didn't dare to look Su Chen in the eye. As she replied, she started walking toward the basement. The distance she was trying to create was obvious. Seeing this, Su Chen understood. She was avoiding him. But Su Chen was here to solve this problem, so how could he let her just run away? He followed her, moving his feet. The distance between them quickly closed.
But then, an accident happened. Su Chen's foot slipped, and he accidentally stepped right on Shinobu's smooth, bare foot. Two fair and tender feet overlapped. A warm, tingling sensation shot up her leg, and her face flushed slightly. Then, reflexively, she pulled her foot back. But as luck would have it, in her haste, her other foot slipped on the polished floor. Trying to catch her balance, she hopped a few times... and ended up stepping right back onto Su Chen's foot.
Kocho Shinobu froze. It turned red. Her face turned a deeper shade of red, making her look like a ripe apple. She wished she could find a hole to crawl into! Su Chen looked at her, finding the situation both funny and frustrating. He had never seen Kocho Shinobu so flustered. He even suspected that if she got any more embarrassed, she might awaken her Mark just from pure humiliation.
"Alright, alright. Be more careful when you walk next time." Su Chen helped her steady herself. He softly asked, "Have you been too tired lately?"
Shinobu's heart fluttered slightly, and she instantly regretted engaging with him. Every time I talk to him, I make a fool of myself. Every single time. She remembered Rengoku mentioning yesterday that when he trained with Su Chen, he always wanted to find a hole to crawl into. Kocho Shinobu felt that she needed one now, too. She paused, taking a deep breath. The smile on her face disappeared. "It's nothing."
After speaking, her beautiful eyes flickered, and a little thought immediately arose in her heart. If I can't win this conversation, I'll change the subject. So she did. "Oh, where is that child Kanao?"
Su Chen replied, "Kanao's Nichirin Sword has been repaired by the swordsmith. She's outside chatting with the swordsmith right now." "Chatting?" Kocho Shinobu was stunned. That must be a very strange conversation. Also, Kanao... chatting with people? How come I, her master, didn't know about this? Kocho Shinobu looked at Su Chen suspiciously. It seemed she knew very little about what Su Chen had been doing recently. He was becoming more and more of a mystery.
"Shinobu," Su Chen said suddenly. Kocho Shinobu subconsciously replied, "What is it?" Su Chen held out his wooden sword and said sincerely, "Can you get me a Nichirin Sword made of Gorilla Iron ore? I'm not really used to using this wooden one anymore."
"This..." Kocho Shinobu's expression was a bit troubled. Just as I thought. Su Chen's eyes narrowed slightly. It seemed that what Kanzaki Aoi said was true; Kocho Shinobu had indeed encountered difficulties. Su Chen's words just now were merely a test. But he didn't expect her to be this financially embarrassed.
"It's fine," Su Chen said, waving his hand and pretending not to care. "I was just asking. Won't I get a Nichirin Sword after I defeat Shinazugawa tomorrow anyway?" But Kocho Shinobu took it to heart. Her fair little hands clenched, turning a bit red. She never thought that as the Insect Hashira, she would have a day where she had to worry about money.
Su Chen saw her smile fade a bit and immediately guessed that she had taken it seriously. He softly comforted her, "It's okay. You sit here and rest for a while, I'll get you a glass of water." Su Chen pulled a chair out for her, then walked toward the back room. Seeing this, Kocho Shinobu revealed a sly look. Finally, he left. Kocho Shinobu walked toward the basement. She made up her mind that she would lock the door as soon as she got in! That way, she wouldn't see Su Chen, right?
But just then. A tall figure again blocked Kocho Shinobu's path. A '#' mark appeared on Kocho Shinobu's smooth forehead. She raised her head and said, somewhat gritting her teeth, "Shinazugawa, what are you doing here?"
Right in the middle of Kocho Shinobu and the path to the basement, a man with a face full of scars stood in her way. This was a man whose appearance alone could stop a child from crying! He had, after all, listened to Iguro Obanai's suggestion and come to the Butterfly Mansion to find Kocho Shinobu. At this moment, Shinazugawa's heart was a bit conflicted. He noticed that Kocho Shinobu, who usually had a good temper, seemed genuinely angry today. Did I provoke her?
"I'm not here to ask about Kanae's matters," he suddenly blurted out. "After all, that's in the past." But it would have been better if he hadn't opened his mouth to explain. The more he explained, the worse it got. The '#' marks on Kocho Shinobu's forehead noticeably increased. "Mr. Shinazugawa," she said with a strained smile, "are you here to deliberately cause trouble?" "Or," she continued, "are you holding a grudge because I scolded you about Mr. Su Chen last time?"
Shinazugawa was stunned. He quickly waved his hands. "No! I didn't mean to blame you!" He regretted the words as soon as he said them. This is just making it worse! "Actually," he said quickly, "I came here this time for something else!"
"Something else?" Kocho Shinobu looked at Shinazugawa suspiciously. This was the first time she had ever seen Shinazugawa show an expression that looked like he was asking for help. In Kocho Shinobu's memory, except for her older sister Kanae, Shinazugawa had never given anyone a good look. Could it be that he really had an urgent matter? "Fine," Kocho Shinobu sighed, saying impatiently. "Tell me what it is."
Seeing this, Shinazugawa finally breathed a sigh of relief. Women, he thought, are simply fickle monsters. Seeing that he had a chance to speak, he immediately laid out his entire purpose.
"Awakening the Mark?" Kocho Shinobu said in surprise. "Didn't Mr. Su Chen already mention the method at the meeting before?" She tilted her head. "Could it be that you've been practicing according to the method recently, and you still haven't awakened it?"
Shinazugawa immediately fell silent. His dignity as a Hashira shattered on the ground. But how could the sly Shinobu let him off? This wasn't the first time Shinazugawa had provoked her. Now that she had the chance, she was naturally going to speak her mind.
"Oh my, oh my~," she started, her sweet voice dripping with sarcasm. "How would I know about your problem, Mr. Shinazugawa?" "After all, Mr. Su Chen already told everyone the method before, so it's only natural for Mr. Shinazugawa to be able to do it, right?" "But it's okay if you can't do it. After all, there's nothing you can do if you just can't, right?" "Also, you should be asking Mr. Su Chen about this problem, shouldn't you? If you feel embarrassed, it's okay, I can introduce you!" "You wouldn't be too shy to ask Mr. Su Chen, would you?" She leaned in slightly, her smile brighter than ever. "Shi-na-zu-ga-wa... bro-ther~"